FF12 has great graphics and a highly innovative battle system, but lacks the sense of immersion found in previous FFs.
The bad: boring story (too serious and diplomatic, lacks the ''fantasy'' feel), mostly uninspired main characters, not so much to do beside going through the main story
The review: The Final Fantasy games have always been known for their superb graphics and sound coupled with a sense of immersion found in only a few other RPGs. This installment in the series has brought a lot of changes. The first thing you'll notice is that the environment is now in full 3D and that the battle system is different. You move the camera freely and fight enemies in real time (there is an option to pause the game while choosing actions for your characters). While some might think this could have affected the graphics and gameplay badly, they're so wrong. The game looks absolutely stunning and the new battle system is much more dynamic and immersive. Even the item gathering system has been done in a very realistic way. This all would have made the best FF game up to date, if it weren't for the overly political main story and uninteresting characters that don't develop that much as the story progresses. The environments do have that special feel, but still there is a feeling that the magic and fun of it all is gone. Everything and everyone is just too serious all the time and the game tries too hard to be something that the Final Fantasy games aren't meant to be. You'll be able to sweep through the main story in about 60-70 hours + perhaps about 30 hours for the sidequests, which are in my opinion tedious and frustrating, consisting mostly of travelling from one area to another and killing some monsters. You will surely play the game because of the superb battle system, but don't expect to feel that something that you felt while playing for instance FF9 or FFX. The leveling system is a little uninspired, because at the end all the characters will basically have the same abilities if you choose so. At the end of it all, if you have the free time and are a FF fan, you should play this game, but if you are wanting to escape from this world for a little while, you'd be better of playing for example Dragon Quest 8 or some of the previous FF games.